Apparatus for cleaning or removing paint from surfaces



March 30,1926. 79,068 T. L. BOYCE APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OR REMOVING PAINT FROM SURFACES Filed August 24, 1922 jii \NVENTOR 9" BY I ATTORNYfi Patented Mar. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS L. BOYCE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T NATIONAL CHEMICAL AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OR REMOVING PAINT FROM SURFACES.

Application filed August 24, 1922. Serial No. 584,162.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. Boron, a citizen of the United States of America, of Syracus 'in the county of Onondaga,

in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning or Removing Paint from Surfaces, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus for cleaning or removing paint from surfaces.

The object of the invention is to produce an eflicient apparatus for that purpose.

The present common apparatus used for substantially this purpose comprises an open-top tank or vatinto which live steam is introduced for heating a large quantity 2 of liquid contained in the vat. This apparatus is satisfactory. so far as the heating 1 is concerned, but where it is necessary to maintain "a chemical of substantially constant proportion or water content, this method of heating is impractical forthe reason that the steam coming in contact with the chemical condenses, and is constantly adding water to the chemical, there- 'by weakening it, and making it necessary to constantly add additional chemical in order to maintain the proper consistency.

In the method of this invention, the heating fluid, such as steam, does not come in contact with the chemical, and a forced circulation ofthe chemical is maintained independent of the steam or other heating fluid, and the atomization of the chemical is effected by means of pressure, and atomizing devices such as spray nozzles of suitable construction for that purpose.

The particular features of thisinvention reside in this circulation, agitation and the maintenance of pressure upon the chemical, all of such a character and so eflected that the chemical is maintained in proper condition and consistency, and is forced from the circulating system to the atomiaing devices by the maintained pressure.

Other objects and advanta es relate to the details of construction of t e apparatus,

all as will more fully appear from the following description, taken in connectipn with i the accompanying drawings, in which :plying steam under pressure, such as the boiler I distributing steam thru pipe 2 to a tank 3 adapted to contain a cleaning fluid and to the heater 4 through which the chemical circulates. The steam entering the cleaning chemical "tank 3 exerts pressure upon the surface of the same, and will cause the-chemical to escape or flow outwardly through the pipe 44 to the discharge nozzle -5- of any suitable construction, and which may be associated with flexible hoses thereby permitting easy distribution of the cleaning chemical over the desired surface. 7 The atomization of this cleaning chemical. from the nozzles 5 may be effected by steam under pressure escaping from the heater 4 through pipe 7 in communication therewith, and uniting with the cleaning chemical line 44tat the union '8-.

Another portion of the steam from the heater 4 passes through pipe .9-' to operate the pump apparatus 10-, the

inlet pipe -11 of which pump is in com-' munication with the vat -12 which containsthe paint removing chemical. chemical is drawn out through pipe 11- and is forced under pressure through pipe 23- into the heater l-.which heater may, as shown in the drawing, be of sub stantially cylindrical. form, and. includes suitable internal heads 13 and '14 near its opposite ends,- which heads are penetrated respectively by the opposite ends of a moving chemical flows and around which the live steam clrculates for heating the chemical during its passage through the plpes. The

pipe 23 communicates with oneend of This series of tubes -15 through which the reical. The pipe 16 leads back to the vat -12 and the chemical circulating under pressure through the system described and returnin to the vat, effects a desired agitation 0 the chemical in the vat to maintain it'in proper condition for effective use.

The pipe 16 is provided with'a valve 17 .for throttling theflow of the chemical through the pipe sufficiently to cause it to rise or flow out through the pipe 18-- '-to one or more distributing pipes -19- vat after it has been heated, and by throt-- tling the line 16 through the mediumof valve 17 sufficient of the heated chemical will be caused to flow through the chemical line 18 to adequately supply the pressure spray nozzles 21-.

Any suitable steam pressure may be maintained in the system and it is found that the maintenance of substantially 100 pounds of pressure in the boiler will produce substantially the same pressure throughoutthe entire system including the chemical lines -44 and 18.

It will'be noted that with this apparatus; the paint removing chemical is not distributed over the surface to be treated by either steam or air, but is atomized under pressure by means of suitable pressure spray nozzles and the removal of the "paint is due to the action of the chemical, theexcessive heat and the force with which the chemical is applied. The heating of the chemical is effected without contact with steam, and its constant agitation 'is maintained by the chemical passing from the heater under pressure back into the vat, while at the same time by the use of the same pressure, the required amount of the chemical is forced through the chemical line --18 to the noz zles 21.

The heating of the chemical in heater -4 is effected by the-use of substantially dry steam and there is little condensation in the steam lines due to the fact that any water drawn from the boiler -1 by-the escaping steam escapes through connection system for said chemical.

24- into the tank -3- while the substantially dry steam continues through the steam line to the heater 4-.

Altho I have shown and described a specific apparatus and parts thereof as illustrative of a perhapspreferred embodiment ofmy invention, I do not desire to limit myself to the exact construction or arrangement or to the details of construction or form of the parts thereof, as various changes may be made in each Without departing from the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the class .described comprising a source of steam, a steam line connecting said source with a tank adapted to contain a cleaning chemical and with a heater through which a paint removing chemical is adapted to circulate, a vat for containing a paint removing chemical, a

circulating system in connection with the vatand including the heater connected to said steam line, means for causing the paint removing chemical to circulate through said system under pressure and an atomiziiig device adapted to be brought into communication with said system.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a vat adapted to contain a paint removing chemical, a circulating system in connection with said vat and including a heater, a circulating system for heating fluid through said heater unconnected to the circulating system for the chemical, a pump in the chemical circulating system, and means of communication between the pump. and the circulating system for the heating fluid through said heater. 3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a vat adapted to contain a paint removing chemical, a chemical circulating system in connection with said vat and including a heater, a circulating system for heating fluid through said heater unconnected to the circulating system for the chemical, a pump in the chemical circulating system, means of communication between the pump and the circulating system for the heating fluid through said heater, and

an atomizing device adapted to be brought into communication with the circulating In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 23 day of August, 1922.

THOMAS L. BOYCE. 

